The sun plays a big biological role in our lives, regulating our circadian rhythms and doing a whole bunch more as well. Some people find the reduced sunlight of the winter months to have negative emotional effects, and rely on artificial lighting to counteract this. [Samasrinivas] built a lamp of their own design for this very purpose.

The lamp is constructed around an abstract sculptural form made in air-dry clay. Light is provided via a string of Neopixel RGBW LEDs. Run by an Adafruit Feather Huzzah, they’re programmed to trigger with the sunrise to provide a bright light in the morning on grey days when the outside world isn’t quite delivering the same. The Adafruit queries an online weather API to get the right sunrise time every day without requiring user intervention. The lamp can also be programmed to provide warm light during later hours.

We’ve featured a few circadian lighting projects before, including one that goes for a whole-of-house effect with smart bulbs. For some, they’re a valuable way to help boost mood and maintain consistent sleep cycles. Video after the break.

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